The Neverland Flu Bug
by Bluegirl285
Summary: Hook would never ask for help from those meddlesome puny pirates even if he was promised treasure. But when he's in desperate need of it, Jake and his crew find themselves traveling throughout Neverland in an adventure-filled attempt to save him.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

Captain James Hook would never say he was lost. He just wasn't familiar with the area. And he didn't see any landmarks that the map showed should be there, nor were there any that were recognizable. But he certainly wasn't lost. Oh no, he certainly knew where he was going. He was on his way to treasure!

...At least, that was according to the map he held in his hand and hook. Like all the maps he previously followed, this one (which he found buried all the way on the bottom of a crate of maps in the very back corner of the Jolly Roger's hold) held the promise of buried treasure, but not what kind it was. All it showed was that X marked the spot and the path with which to reach it.

And in Hook's eyes, through gold-tinted glasses, that was good enough for him.

So as he wandered through the unnamed and unknown, searching for the correct path to riches, he failed to notice anything else, especially the unusual insect buzzing towards him. He didn't even realize the thing landing on his hand. At least, until he felt the extremely painful bite.

"OUCH!" Hook cried out and instantly looked away from the map and at his hand, where he finally noticed a black bug with red and purple markings. Immediately, his second reaction was to swat the thing away with his hook, but the bug has already taken off and buzzed away.

"Blasted insect," Hook angrily muttered to himself. Shaking his head, he quickly went back to reading the map, failing, once again, to notice his surroundings. Especially the site of the bite, which was starting to swell up a little and turn red and purple.

He was starting to realize, however, that he was getting a headache. And that it (or rather he) was becoming hotter than usual...


	2. Chapter 1

Hook never did find the right path, though lack of trying was not the reason. It might have had something to do with the way he was stumbling and the near trips and falls, along with his aching head and body. The heat was so wicked, he was sweating profusely, which produced a terrible thirst. The coughs he was experiencing did not help matters and, in fact, made his parched throat even drier. Oh Neptune, at that point he would have gladly given his other hand for a tall glass of ice cold water.

He tried to get his mind off his thirst by focusing on the map instead, but found himself unable to read it anymore, due to his blurred vision. In fact, it was so bad it got to where he had to keep putting his face closer and closer to the map, to the point where his nose was touching the parchment. It worked somewhat, for he was so distracted on the fuzzy lines and squiggles that he failed, once again, to notice anything in his path. Or anyone.

"Hey! Watch out!" Hook was forced out of his woozy abstraction by a loud voice that seemed to be accompanied by flaps of feathers. So squawky was the voice that he also instantly dropped his map, although in his addled state he hardly noticed it.

The voice, it turned out, was that of Skully, the feathered first mate of Jake and his puny pirate band, recruited by that meddlesome Peter Pan to spy on Hook and his crew of the Jolly Roger.

Skully was not alone. Hook not only could see that the smallest pirate (what was his name? Cubby?) was with him, but that without the map to look at he now knew exactly where he was. He had wandered into the Kooky Kokonut grove, a collection of palm trees that bore special coconuts. While they looked and felt like regular coconuts, kooky kokonuts had a different smell and flavor to them and tasted like a mixture of fruit punch, butter, and applesauce. Hook hated kooky kokonuts, always had since he was a wee little pirate lad. He gave a slight shudder, though it was more from the sudden chill running through his achy body than from disgust at the thought of those kokonuts.

Cubby and Skully did not seem to notice this, though. They were more concerned as to who had almost trampled them, and why.

"Oh, it's just ol' featherhat," Skully said he flew eye level to Hook. The parrot looked down to get a glance at the map. "Searching for more buried treasure, by the looks of this map."

"Um, um, ahoy, Captain Hook," Cubby quietly stammered. "Y-y-you might want to watch out. A lot kokonuts fell last night and you wouldn't want to trip all over them."

To Hook, it seemed as though Cubby's voice was grating his ears, making his headache even worse, not to mention the smell of the kooky kokonuts was nauseating. He needed to get out of there, now.

"Ugh. You just worry about your own business, puny pirate, and Ill worry about me own," Hook muttered and tried to wave them off with his hook. He looked around for the map he had dropped. "Now, where did I put me treasure map?"

"Um, Captain Hook," Cubby walked closer to him and pointed down to the ground by Hook's boots. "Your map's right there, where you dropped it."

"Huh? Oh, oh right. There it is," Hook bent down to pick up the map that he could just barely make out with his blurred vision. At that point, however, the aches in his body moved onto his joints and he found himself unable to completely bend down to even touch the map. Nor did he have the strength to straighten himself back up. Captain Hook winced and grunted in obvious pain.

"Captain Hook! Are you alright?" Cubby quickly reached out in alarm to gently steady Hook as he started to wobble. It looked like he was going to collapse on the ground at any moment.

"Hey Cubby. Is it me or does Hook look a little more out of it than usual?" Skully flew up close to Hook's face and took note of the fact that the pirate's eyes looked red and glassy. Even the parrot knew that could not be a good thing.

"I don't know Skully," Cubby seemed a little unsure as he continued studying Hook's face. "I'm not into doctoring like Izzy is, but it looks to me like Hook may be sick. You better check his tempertature just to be sure."

Skully flew close to Hook's forehead and laid a wing on it. Almost instantly, he snatched it back.

"Crackers! His forehead's so hot it almost singed my feathers!"

"Aw, coconuts! That means you have a fever," Cubby took Hook's hand and began leading him further into the grove. "Here, you better sit here in the shade where it's nice and cool."

Cubby brought Hook to a palm tree with large, overhanging leaves. There was also no kokonuts, so there was little chance of having one drop on the ill pirate's head. And none too soon, for as soon as they reached the tree, Hook's legs gave out from under him and he collapsed in the shade. Cubby was still steadying him all the way, making sure his head did not hit the trunk of the tree. Any other time, Hook would have protested this treatment, proclaiming that blasted barnacles, he was not a weakling to be treated as such! But he was too sick and exhausted to protest, even as Cubby managed to get his red coat off of him and bunch it up into a makeshift pillow, laying it on the roots of the tree.

"Here Captain, you better lay right down here," Cubby gently yet firmly pushed Hook down so that his head rested on the coat pillow. Cubby took note of Hook's sweaty and flushed face, wishing he had a handkerchief or even a tissue to wipe the sweat off. Instead, he laid his hand on the pirate captain's forehead to feel the temperature for himself. It was a fever all right and a real high one too. That could not be a good thing.

"Alright, well, I got Hook in some shade. What should we do now?" Cubby turned to Skully, who was the best one to ask at the moment, as the parrot himself had suffered from a cold some months back.

"Well, the next thing we should do is cool him down and get him to drink some liquids," Skully explained. "That's the best thing to do when you're sick."

"But what can we get him to drink?" Cubby asked as he looked around. "There's no water around here and I didn't bring any with me."

"Hmm...," Skully gave it some thought and then it hit him like an ocean wave. "I've got it! We're practically surrounded by kooky kokonuts! Let's get ol' featherhat to drink some of the kokonut water."

"Great idea, Skully," Cubby's smile, though, quickly turned into a doubtful frown. "But, these kokonuts are really tough to crack open. I mean, I would hate to break them on a rock and risk spilling the juice, ya know?"

"Oh, yeah, good point," Skully turned thoughtful again as he eyed the path leading away from the grove. "Tell ya what? I'll fly off and see what I can find, In the meantime, you stay here to cool Hook off as best as you can. Try using his hat as a makeshift fan."

"Good thinking, Skully. And good luck with your search."

As Skully flew off, Cubby took Hook's hat from his head and, holding it in both hands, moved it up and down near the pirate's face, essentially creating slight breezes that were cooler than the air around them. It at least cooled Hook enough so that within seconds, Cubby could hear him snoring. That was a good thing, though. Sleep was also best for a sick person to get plenty of.

About twenty minutes later, Skully flew back into the grove with what looked like a stick in his feet. Before the parrot could let a word out, however, Cubby stopped fanning and quickly put a finger to his lips, pointing to a still sleeping Hook at the same time to indicate it was probably best to stay quiet to give the ill pirate some more time to rest. After moving away from Hook some but still keeping him in their sights, Skully dropped the stick he was carrying into Cubby's hands.

"Here ya are, matey," Skully whispered as Cubby examined the stick. It was hollow like a drinking straw, but with a sharp, slanted point at one end. "This should solve our kooky dilemma."

"Um, Skully, how will this help us?" Cubby looked at the stick in some confusion.

"Simple. You see the three black dots on each kokonut? Those are the eyes. All you have to do is hit the pointed end of the stick into one of those dots with a small rock, like a hammer and nail. Then Hook can drink the water through the stick and when the kokonut's empty, you can pull it out and start again."

"Alright! That's awesome! I'm going to try it right now!" With that, Cubby grabbed a kokonut and carried it out of the grove. Soon, Skully could hear the soft sounds of a rock hitting the stick. A short time later, Cubby came back with the stick straw successfully inserted in the kooky kokonut and walked over to Hook. He hated to wake pirate up, but it was important that he help Hook replenish the fluids he was losing through his sweating.

"Ahem. Um, Captain? Captain Hook?" Cubby gently shook the captain's shoulder to wake him, which Hook did so with a start.

"Huh...? Wha...? Oh, what do you want, ya puny pir-ah, ah AH, AHCHOO!" Hook shot straight up as he was rocked by a violent sneeze, followed by two more. Once the small sneezing fit ended, he sank back down into the pillow.

"Ugh, say it ya sneaky snook, don't spray it," Skully said as he flew in closer. "Anyway, Cubby has some kooky kokonut water here for you to drink."

"Yuck! Blasted bilgewater, I hate kooky kokonuts." Hook gave a look of disgust as he tried to turn away from the offered straw stick.

"I'm sorry Captain, but this is the only thing to drink right now because there's no water around," Cubby explaned. "Besides, you need to drink something or you're just going to end up feeling worse."

As much as Hook hated the kokonuts, at the same time he certainly did not want to end up feeling worse than he did already. And so, with great reluctance, he gave in and weakly turned his head towards Cubby, who put the straw in his mouth and allowed him to suck up the kokonut water. Hook's face scrunched up in distaste, but still he drank it all down.

"Yo ho, way to go!" Cubby praised using his matey Jake's catchphrase as he took the now empty kokonut away and pulled the straw out. "But you'll have to drink some more water. I'll need to stick this straw into another kokonut." As Cubby stuck the pointed stick into the eyes of another kokonut and began hammering it in, Skully landed right on the boy's shoulder as he took note of Hook's hand.

"Hey Cubby? Take a look at Hook's hand, right near his thumb," Skully used his wing like a finger to point it out. "What does that look like to you?"

Cubby leaned in closer to examine spot Skully mentioned. "I dunno, Skully. It looks like a really nasty bug bite to me, only it has these weird red and purple markings."

"Red and purple markings?! Crackers, Cubby! You don't think Hook's been...?"

The look on Cubby's face as he turned towards Skully silenced whatever the parrot was going to say next. "I'm thinking it's time you brought Jake and Izzy over here. We're going to need some help on this one."

"Right. You keep getting Hook to drink the water. I'll bring the crew on over."

And with that, Skully flew off towards Pirate Island, leaving Cubby with the nearly impossible task of getting Hook to drink more kooky kokonut water.

Minutes later, he spotted Jake and Izzy on Pirates Island, engaging in their favorite activities. Jake was putting the finishing touches on his new sail wagon, while Izzy was busy making jewelry from the beautiful seashells she had collected near Mermaid Lagoon.

"Jake, Izzy! Come quick!" Skully squawked as soon as he saw them. "Pirate emergency at the Kooky Kokonut Grove!"

Jake instantly dropped his hammer and ran towards his parrot matey.

"Skully! What's going on? And where's Cubby?"

Instanly, Izzy looked around for her friend and feared the worst when she didn't see him. "Is Cubby hurt? Is that who the emergency is for?"

"Oh, no, Cubby's fine. He's back at the grove," Skully assured his friends. "It's actually for Hook!"

At that point, Skully launched into his explanation of how Hook had stumbled into the grove and listed all the symptoms the buccaneer was suffering from. Izzy took note of each one and had a ready answer as soon as Skully stopped talking.

"Well, I am sorry that he's sick, but it sounds to me like he's just suffering from a garden variety flu," Izzy explained. "He may feel crummy now, but he should be ok in about a week."

"I dunno, Iz. I don't think this is any kind of variety flu," Skully shook his head. "He has a particularly nasty bug bite on his hand that's covered in red and purple markings. We're thinking he may have been bitten by the Neverland Flu Bug."

"THE NEVERLAND FLU BUG?!" Jake and Izzy cried out in alarm.

"Yay hey, no way!" Izzy exclaimed. "If Hook's been bitten, that means that he..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but then, she didn't have to. All three knew full well the consequences Hook faced as a result of that bite. Neverland Flu Bugs were the rarest insects of all and a good thing too. Anyone bitten by the bug would suffer from severe symptoms of the flu forever. And as far as anyone knew, there was no known cure.

Jake, Izzy, and Skully all shuddered at the thought. Hook may have been a cruel, selfish, criminal crook, but not even he deserved such a fate.


	3. Chapter 2

"Alright well, cure or not, we still need to help Hook," Jake, always the leader, immediately straightened himself up after leaving his shoulders slumped for a minute and turned to his two mateys.

"Izzy, go get your medical kit and any other supplies you think we may need," Jake instructed.

"Aye-aye, Jake," Izzy saluted and ran into their hideout.

"Skully," Jake said, turning to the parrot. "You fly to the Jolly Roger and get Mr. Smee, Sharky and Bones. Let them know what's happened and bring them to the grove."

"Aye-aye," Skully flew of towards the Neversea, but then he immediately flew back to Jake. "Oh, I almost forgot! You'll need to bring some fresh water to the grove as well. Hook's fever is so high he's sweating boulders and Cubby's having a hard time cooling him down. It's also making him thirsty. Cubby's giving him kooky kokonut water, but he can only get ol' featherhat to drink so much because Hook says he doesn't like it."

"Ok, Skully. We'll get a couple of large containers and stop by a spring on the way over," Jake turned towards the hideout to fetch the containers as Skully flew off once again. As he got further away from the island, he could have sworn he heard Izzy tell Jake about needing to find fresh moss on the way too. But Skully shook his head and figured he must have heard wrong.

What did fresh moss have to do with Hook's illness?

On board the Jolly Roger, Captain Hook's small crew of scurvy swabs, Mr. Smee, Sharky, and Bones, were busy getting the ship in as pristine condition as possible. That included swabbing the decks, polishing the ships wheel and cannons, scrubbing down the dinghy, and cleaning and dusting below decks. Along with helping Sharky and Bones, Mr. Smee, in the captain's absence, oversaw the cleaning.

"Now you men, make sure you get that deck all nice and shiny," Smee both encouraged and instructed at the same time. "We want the cap'n to be able to see his reflection when he returns from his treasure hunt."

"Er, beggin' yer pardon, Mr. Smee," Sharky momentarily stopped his swabbing to turn to Hook's first mate. "but are we certain that the cap'n be findin' treasure this time, as opposin' to the other times he been lookin?"

"Well, even if he doesn't, he'll at least have one less thing to be mad about when he sees how ship-shape we've gotten this ship, exactly as he ordered before he left," Smee walked over to the bucket and noticed something missing beside it. "Oh dear, it looks like we're out of soap. I'll have to go below deck to get some more."

As soon as Smee disappeared, Sharky and Bones' chores got an unexpected interruption in the form of Skully flying in. Bones was the first to take notice.

"Look, it be the popinjays' bird matey, Skully!" Bones pointed out to Sharky. "Ahoy, Skully!"

"Ahoy, Bones! Ahoy, Sharky!" Skully flew down and landed on one of the Jolly Roger's railings. "Is Mr. Smee on board as well?"

"Oh aye, he's just below deck" Sharky pointed to the entrance of the aforementioned area. "You need me to go fetch him for ya?"

"No need. I'm comin' back up," Smee appeared back on deck with a fresh bar of soap on hand. He smiled as soon as he saw Skully.

"Well, hello Skully," Smee greeted. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I wish this was just a visit Mr. Smee, but Jake asked me to come get you guys," Skully said. "Captain Hook's in the Kooky Kokonut grove and he's real sick. High fever and everything."

"The cap'n, sick? B-b-but how could this be?" Mr. Smee eyes went wide and looked at Skully in some confusion. "He was just fine this morning when he left to go treasure hunting."

"He may have been fine then," Skully said. "But that was before he got bit by the Neverland Flu Bug."

"THE NEVERLAND FLU BUG?!" Sharky and Bones cried out, dropping both their mops in shock.

"The N-n-neverland Flu Bug?! Oh my, oh dear," Smee was now close to full-blown panic mode, wringing his hands and pacing about the deck. He turned back to Skully. "Are you sure about this? 100% positive?"

"Well, to be honest, I can't really say for sure," Skully answered. "But he does have this red and purple bug bite on his hand."

Smee thought back to this morning. He did not recall seeing any such bite on the captain's hand and he was as sure as Peter Pan's shadow that the buccaneer would have brought it to Smee's attention.

"Well, bug or no bug, the cap'n's still sick, so we'll have to bring him back here," Smee turned to Sharky and Bones. "You men come up with something to carry the cap'n back in, then prepare to set sail for Neverland."

"Aye-aye, Mr. Smee!" Both pirates raced off to gather materials as Smee turned to start pacing the deck.

"Oh dear, I don't know what we're going to do, Skully," Mr. Smee despaired. We can bring the cap'n here and take care of him, but I'm afraid we face having to do that forever."

"Hmm. Hey, I have an idea!" Skully exclaimed. "Why don't I bring Mama Hook here to the Jolly Roger? She knows Neverland like Hook knows his hooks and she makes great teas. Maybe she might know something about the bug."

"Why, that's brilliant, Skully," Smee's face brightened, but then he looked unsure. "But, I couldn't ask you to..."

"Hey, I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't want to do it," Skully said. "Just be sure to tell my mateys where I went, ok?"

"Oh aye, that we'll do," Mr. Smee promised. And with that, Skully flew off in the direction of Mama Hook's home as the Jolly Roger headed for Neverland.

Within a few moments, Sharky and Bones were able to cobble together a makeshift litter using two large broom handles, leftover sailcloth, and some rope. Once the Jolly Roger landed near the shore, all three pirates left the ship and headed for the Kooky Kokonut grove, Mr. Smee leading the way. Once he could see that they were getting closer to the entrance, he called out for Hook.

"Cap'n! Oh Cap'n Hook!"

"We're over here, Mr. Smee!" one of the pint-sized buccaneers that the Jolly Roger crew recognized as Jake called back. The pirates followed the trail to the grove's clearing, where they found Hook lying under one of the trees, with Jake and his crew administering to him almost like nursemaids. Jake had what appeared to be water in a container, with a straw in it that he brought to the captain's lips every few seconds or so. Izzy was dipping what, at first glance, appeared to be a green sponge in another container of water and dabbing it on Hook's face, but upon closer examination it turned out to be moss. Cubby was standing in front of the group, waving Hook's hat up and down in an effort of fanning him. Smee also noticed that the captain's red coat had been removed and his head was resting on it like a pillow.

"Ahoy, Mr. Smee! Ahoy Sharky and Bones!" Jake and his crew called out.

"Ahoy there, popinjays!" the Jolly Roger crew answered back.

"Um, where's Skully?" Jake queried. "He was supposed to come back here with you."

"Well, Jake," Mr. Smee answered. "After he found us and told us about the cap'n, he flew off to fetch Mama Hook and bring her back to the ship."

"Yay hey! That's a great idea!" Izzy exclaimed, albeit in a quiet way to respect the sick captain. "She might know more about what we're dealing with."

"Oh, dear, oh, dear, Cap'n Hook," Mr. Smee muttered as he walked over to Hook and felt his forehead. It was hot to the touch and slick from perspiration and water. He also glanced at the bite on the pirate's hand. Without having seen a Neverland Flu Bug bite before, he could not say for sure whether this was the real deal, but given the quickness and severity of the illness, he suspected that might be the case.

"While we were waiting for you, we were working on getting him cooled down and keeping him re-hydrated," Jake explained. "I've been giving him fresh water and Cubby has been fanning him.

"And I've been using this moss to help him cool down further," Izzy chimed in. "Moss feels cool to the touch and it absorbs water, so I figured it would make a perfect sponge."

Not for the first time did Mr. Smee find himself highly impressed with the popinjays' ingenuity, teamwork, and generosity.

"Well, I'm sure the cap'n appreciates all you did for him," Mr. Smee said. "But we need to get him back on board the ship. C'mon men. Careful now."

With Mr. Smee's hands under the captain's arms and Sharky and Bones each grabbing a leg, it took all three men to lift Hook out from under the kokonut tree and onto the litter. Sharky and Bones then each lifted one end of the litter and made a swift but careful beeline back to the Jolly Roger, Mr. Smee right behind them. Jake and Izzy were next, carrying Hook's coat and the medical bag, respectively. Cubby took up the rear, still holding onto the ill pirate's large hat.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As soon as the Jolly Roger was in sight, the pirates were surprised to see a hot air dinghy floating next to the ship. To their knowledge, there was only one person they knew of who traveled in such a way. As they neared the gangplank, two women appeared at the top, accompanied by Skully. The women loudly gasped when they saw the party, particularly the unconscious figure lying on the litter.

"James!" They both cried as they raced down the gangplank towards the pirates. While the one in the red dress rushed over to the litter, the other one stayed a little ways behind to talk with Jake and his crew.

"Nanny Nell!" the kids exclaimed as he headed towards her.

"Hello, dear children," Nanny Nell smiled sadly.

"How did you know to come here?" Cubby asked.

"Well, actually," Nanny Nell explained. "I was at Mama Hook's place having tea with her when your parrot friend flew over and said James was stricken. Now, what's this I hear about the Neverland Flu Bug?"

"Um, to be honest, Nanny Nell," Izzy answered. "We're not exactly sure if this is a Neverland Flu bug bite. But then, we don't know what one would actually look like."

"Hmm, now let me think," Nanny Nell pondered. "Does the bite have any markings?"

"Hey yeah, now that you mention it," Cubby spoke up. "The bite on his hand has red and purple markings."

"Red and purple markings?" Nanny Nell's head shot up. "And they're sort of in a swirling pattern?"

"Yeah, exactly," Jake nodded his head. "What does that mean, Nanny Nell?"

"Well, me little buccaneers," Nanny Nell shook her head. "It means I'm going to have to put your doubts to rest. James was indeed bitten by a Neverland Flu Bug."

Izzy gave a sharp gasp and put her hands to her face, shaking her head. "Oh no, this is terrible!"

"Oh, my poor little James!" Mama Hook took her son's hand in hers and with the other, gently brushed wisps of sweat-dampened hair away from his forehead. "Oh this is all my fault!"

Everyone there turned their heads and looked at Mama Hook on hearing her words.

"Um, excuse me Mama Hook," Jake spoke up as he stepped closer to her. "Captain Hook was bitten by the Neverland Flu Bug. How does that make it your fault?"

Mama Hook sighed and, while still holding Hook's hand, launched into her explanation. "I wanted to protect James from that nasty bug, so I hunted down every one, or so I thought. Evidently, I missed one. And one is all it takes to strike you down."

"Aw, Mama Hook," Mr Smee walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for the Cap'n's being sick."

"Mr. Smee's right, Mama Hook," Jake assured the distraught woman. "You couldn't have known there's still one flu bug out there."

"Alright now everyone," Nanny Nell walked up to the group. "We can't be standing around here all day. Let's get James on board the Jolly Roger and into his bunk, then we can discuss what we can do next."

Within an hour, Captain Hook was back on board the Jolly Roger, dressed in his pjs and resting comfortably in his cabin on his bunk. While Mama Hook was busy preparing tea. Nanny Nell was going through her own book for the recipe for oyster, clam and seaweed stew, which, according to her, was what she always made for Hook whenever he was sick. All Jake, his crew, and Sharky and Bones could do was stand around, feeling helpless.

Well, this just won't do, Nanny Nell thought as she sneaked a glance at the group of pirates standing by the doorway looking in, unsure of what to say or do. Fortunately, she knew the very task she could entrust to them that would not only occupy their time and minds, but also help James as well. Picking up her book, she walked towards them with a small smile and a thoughtful look.

"You know dears, it would not do James or yourselves any good to be huddling around like a bunch of lost sheep.," she said.

"I know, Nanny Nell," James sighed. "But what can we do?"

"I have just the thing right here," Nanny Nell turned the pages to a certain recipe in her book. "You can help by gathering the ingredients for a tea to cure James' affliction."

The pirates, including Mr Smee, all looked at Nanny Nell with eyes wide and mouths dropped in disbelief.

"B-b-but..." Cubby stuttered. "But I thought there was no cure for a Neverland Flu Bug bite!"

"Oh, there is a cure," Mama Hook answered as she came walking up to join in on the conversation. "The ingredients are just extremely difficult to obtain. It can also be very dangerous at times. I... we... we couldn't ask you to do this. "

"Well, dangerous and difficult, we won't know unless we try," Jake proclaimed. "If there's a chance that Hook can be cured, there's no reason not to take it."

Cubby, Izzy, and Skully looked at each other, looking uncertain at first, then smiled with determination and turned back to Nanny Nell.

"Ok, Nanny Nell, what all do we need to get?" Izzy asked.

"Now there's what I wanted to hear!" Nanny Nell turned the book around so that the buccaneers could see the pages. They showed several illustrations of each needed ingredient, linked together by a dotted line, all the way to the picture of a steaming cup of tea. "Now, of these, only one ingredient is easy to obtain. The rest are challenging, to say the least. And they can be found in areas all over Neverland. First, you will need to gather some Kooky Kokonuts..."

Everyone's attention was turned to Hook when he gave a slight groan and shuddered in his sleep. Evidently he had understood, even in his dreams, that he would have to drink Kooky Kokonut water again. Nanny Nell shook her head. Poor James. She remembered how much he disliked Kooky Kokonuts as a young lad. It seemed that part about him had never changed.

"Hey! We were just at the Kooky Kokonut grove!" Skully spoke up. "That's where Hook wandered into after he got bit."

"Ya mean, we hafta go back ta the grove ta get some kokonuts?" Sharky asked.

"We won't need to!" Cubby answered as he set down a bag that, up until then, no one had noticed he was carrying. "Skully and I were collecting kokonuts at the grove before we found Hook. I was going to use them to make a cake, but this is much more important."

"Splendid! Thank you, dear boy," Nanny Nell patted Cubby on the head before she pointed to the next ingredient listed in the book. "Next, you will need to collect Crystal Ice tea leaves. They can only be found at Ch-ch-chilly Canyon."

"Great! Our friend Percy the Penguin lives there," Jake said. "He might be able to help us find them."

"The next ingredient to find is nectar from the Drip Drop Milkweeds," Nanny Nell continued. "You can find them in Deep Dark Valley."

"D-d-deep D-d-dark Valley?!" Sharky and Bones stuttered, shaking in fear uncontrollably.

"Finally, you will need to collect honey from the giant honeybees in Big Bug Valley," Nanny Nell finished.

"B-b-b-big Bug Valley?!" This time, it was Cubby's turn to quake in obvious fear.

"That's right," Nanny Nell answered. She closed the book. "Once you collect the ingredients, you can bring them back here and Mama Hook and I will make the tea for James."

"Okay, mateys, let's head to our hideout first to get some supplies, then we can start getting the ingredients for the tea to help Hook," Jake told his crew. "Let's also keep a lookout for gold doubloons. Whenever we solve pirate problems, they'll appear. Then we'll collect them and put them in our Team Treasure Chest."

"Is everybody ready?" Skully asked his trademark question.

"I got my sword!" Jake answered.

"Got my map!" Cubby declared, holding up the rolled-up parchment.

"And I got my pixie dust." Izzy held up the little bag hanging around her neck.

"You've also got this," Nanny Nell walked over to the crew with a piece of paper, on which she had written the needed ingredients for the tea and where to find them. She then turned to Sharky and Bones. "And I believe it would be best if you two also accompanied them on their journey."

"Us, madam?" Bones looked at her in surprise.

"Of course," Nanny Nell answered. "You would help James better by going with these young mateys rather than standing around not doing anything."

"She's right, guys," Izzy said. "Besides, the more help we had, the faster we can get this done and cure this bug bite."

Sharky and Bones looked at each other and then back at the popinjays. They then developed the same determined looks and both declared, "We're in."

"Great! Then Yo Ho, Let's Go!" Jake exclaimed. And with that declaration, the pirates started marching off the Jolly Roger and down the gangplank towards the beach, off to where they left Bucky docked.

As Mr. Smee proceeded to wipe his captain's sweat-dampened forehead with a wet cloth, he could hear the popinjays and Sharky and Bones start to sing "Yo-ho Mateys Away...!" Before he knew it, he found himself humming the tune under his breath.

"Goodbye, dears!" Nanny Nell was outside, standing by the rails, waving at the pirates.

"Good luck with your quest!" Mama Hook joined Nanny Nell on deck.

In his mind, as he was tending his sick captain, Smee also wished the popinjays and Sharky and Bones good luck. He had a feeling they would need it before this whole trial was over.

Author's Note: I hope you are enjoying this story so far. I understand from my last chapter that there has been some confusion as to certain points in this story. The first is why Hook was off by himself searching for treasure when he was bitten. I know most of the times he always has his crew with him on the show. However, I have seen a couple of episodes where he was by himself treasure hunting. For this story, I felt that Hook being by himself when he got bitten and sick would have more of a dramatic impact than if he were with his crew. The second point is the spelling of kokonut. I do know that the correct spelling is "coconut," however, as stated in the beginning of Chapter One, Neverland kooky kokonuts are different from regular coconuts, starting with the spelling. The Kooky Kokonut Grove, as you may have guessed, is a place in Neverland that I made up for this story. I hope this helps answer your questions. If you have any more, let me know and I will be glad to answer them.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jake, Izzy, Cubby, Skully, Sharky and Bones made their way to Pirate Island onboard Bucky to get supplies before they went back to Neverland to start their adventure. Out of respect for the sea pups, Sharky and Bones stayed aboard Bucky along with Skully while the others went around the hideout collecting whatever they felt they would need. Izzy found a tote bag with a strap long enough to go across her shoulders that she felt might be perfect, both for carrying her first aid kit and the containers and sacks that would hold the ingredients they hoped to gather. To Cubby fell the task of getting enough gloves, earmuffs, and scarves for everyone for when they reached Ch-ch-chilly Canyon. Jake was going through their collection of gifts from Peter Pan that he had sent them over time, including games, knickknacks, and books on unusual subjects. In fact, Jake had one particular book in his hand and as he was perusing the title, he had to wonder what had drawn him to this one. It wasn't as though the subject was useful; certainly not for the tasks they were facing. Still, though, the urge to take the book with him was powerful and if there was one thing Peter stressed to his pirate crew, it was always follow your gut. So with that, Jake pocketed the book and continued with his sweep of the room.

Once the crew finished with their packing, they boarded Bucky again and headed back towards Neverland to the spot closest to Never Peak Mountain, on the other side of which lay Ch-ch-chilly Canyon, where they hoped to find Crystal Ice Tea leaves, the first ingredient of the curative tea for Hook. Though it seemed like quite the hike, the entire walk actually took only an hour and a half. While this was mainly due to the fact that they had all gone to the canyon plenty of times before, it did not escape any of the pirates big and small that there seemed to be a sense of urgency. Even though both Nanny Nell and Mama Hook assured both crews that a Neverland Flu Bug bite was non-fatal and that Hook was not dying by any means, all felt that careful speed was of the upmost importance, as the faster they gathered the ingredients the quicker Hook would be cured.

As they reached the top of Never Peak Mountain and started their descent on the other side, the hikers could feel the temperature drop, until it finally got cold enough to don the winter accessories. Soon they reached Ch-ch-chilly Canyon, where they immediately began heading for the village of igloos where the penguin colony dwelled.

"Mateys, ahoy! I see them!" Skully, flying high above, pointed out the igloos down below. "And I think I see Percy!"

Sure enough, they made out one lone penguin outside his igloo, looking like he was engaging in a round of the penguins' favorite board game. Lying on his stomach with brows furrowed, he appeared to be concentrating on moving an ice cube around what looked like a pinball machine carved out of ice. He would just stare at the board, occasionally moving the ice in a pattern of sorts. So entranced he was in the game that he did not seem to hear the snow crunch loudly as the group approached him from the front.

Moments of watching the game-playing passed, then Sharky, shuffling his feet both from the cold and impatience, cleared his throat and leaned down to whisper to Jake, "Um, shouldn't one of us be sayin' somethin' now?"

"Shh," Jake turned to face Sharky with his finger to his lips. "Easy, Sharky. I know you want to help your captain, we all do. But when Percy plays Ice Maze, you can't get him to stop even if you fired cannons right next to him. It's best if we let him finish this round."

"Amazin'," Bones softly spoke. In spite of himself, he was highly interested in the maze. "How does it go?"

"Easy. You see those pieces of ice sticking up from the board?" Izzy pointed to the game. "The object of the game is to get the ice cube to the other side of the board, but the catch is that once you slide that cube, it won't stop until something else stops it, like those ice pieces or even those holes on the board. If the cube falls in the hole, you would need to start over. The trick is to find the right pattern so that the cube can reach the other side without falling into the hole."

"The cool part is that once you beat the game, you shake the board to change the positions of the pieces so that they come up in a different pattern on the board," Cubby added. "This way, the correct path is different each time."

The pirates continued watching, and in a short amount of time, the ice cube made it to the other end of the board, causing Percy to let out a big whoop and leap in the air.

"And another high score for me!" He shouted. "Let's see my Arctic Pearl beat that! Or better yet, let's see me beat that!"

Percy picked up the board and was just about to give it a shake to start a new game when Jake cleared his throat to get his friend's attention while he was not so occupied. Percy looked up at the sound and, realizing for the first time that he was not alone, gave a huge smile when he recognized who was there.

"Well, hi mates!" He waved. "I hope I didn't have to make you wait too long to finish."

"Hey Percy and don't worry," Jake assured his penguin buddy. "We only just got here."

"Oh good," Percy sighed in relief. "My Arctic Pearl's always telling me that's my problem: I get so focused on the maze that I don't pay attention to anything else around me. I can make a penguin or person wait for hours if they wanted to." Percy chuckled to himself and shook his head. He then looked up and noticed Sharky and Bones standing behind his friends. His smile froze on his face.

"Er, don't mean to alarm you," Percy said with uncertainty, pointing to the two older pirates. "But are you aware that Captain Hook's pirate lackeys are right behind you?"

"It's ok, Percy. They're with us," Jake explained. "In fact, it's kinda why we're here. We need your help to find something."

"Always happy to help my mates out," Percy assured his friends. "What can I do for you?"

"We need to find ingredients for a tea for ol' Featherhat," Skully explained. "He was bitten by an insect called the Neverland Flu Bug and unless we get this tea for him, he's stuck having the flu forever."

"Huh! Well being sick at all is no fun, but being sick forever?" Percy looked thoughtful as he contemplated the news. "Not even the ol' codfish deserves that mess. Alright, then. Where should we start first?"

"Well, there's one ingredient we need to find for this tea that's supposed to be here," Cubby pointed to the top of the list that Nanny Nell had given them. "It's called a Crystal Ice Tea Plant. Do you know about it?"

"Hmm, well," Percy looked thoughtful. "To be honest, mates, except for the pine trees, I've never seen any plants growing around here. Although, there is something I've heard about.."

"What is it, Percy?" Jake said.

"Well, my colony and I," Percy explained. "It was when we heard stories about Ch-ch-chilly Canyon, before we came here. One of them was about a cave where plants grow in. It's supposed to be just a legend, though."

"Even if it's only as such, they do say that legends have a basis of truth," Izzy pointed out. "Do you know where this cave is supposed to be?"

"I know like I know where to find the best fish," Percy assured them. "It's quite a way there, though, so you'll have to take your sleds."

With Percy sliding on his belly and leading the way, the pirates followed their friend through hills and trees, past streams and canyons, the cold wind whipping their faces, until finally they could see Percy slowing down and followed suit. Shortly afterwards, Percy came to a full stop in front of a small cavern. There would have been nothing significant about it, except that there was a sign with an arrow seeming to point the way in. Also on that sign was a picture of a plant that looked incredibly familiar.

"Blimey! That be lookin' like the tea plant picture in Nanny Nell's book," Sharky pointed out.

"You're right, Sharky!" Cubby said. "I recognize it, too!"

"Yay hey! That means we're in the right direction!" Jake exclaimed. "C'mon, mateys, let's go in and find the plant."

The group walked into the cavern, a little nervous as to what could be in there, especially since Percy admitted that none of the colony had ever gone in there before. Since they didn't use plants, they had never needed to.

After walking a ways in the cave, the small tunnel they were traversing through suddenly opened up into a large room. There was a small ledge which they could easily jump down from, which led onto an unusual setup. The floor itself looked slick and shiny, having an almost mirror-like quality. There were rocks of various sizes sticking up from the floor, the tallest one positioned in the back of the room. Also scattered throughout the floor were holes, all of them just about the same size as the giant block of ice that was stationed in front of the room, at the edge of the floor facing opposite from the tallest stone.

"Crackers! What is this room?" Skully asked as he flew around the room, looking at every stone and trying to peer down every square-shaped hole.

"I don't know, Skully," Jake answered. "It might be a puzzle, or a trap, so everyone be careful."

As the others cautiously walked around, mindful of any triggers and the holes on the floor, Skully continued his sweep of the room. He flew around examining the top of every stone. And when he reached the tallest stone on the other side...

"Mateys! I see it!" Skully screeched at the top of his lungs, forgetting about the echo in the room that made his voice seem louder. "I see the tea plant!"

Everyone looked to see where Skully was pointing at. Bones, the tallest of the group, was the only one on the ground to make out the plant on the stone.

"He's right!" Bones confirmed. "There it is!"

Sure enough, at the very top of the stone was a plant that seemed to be growing from the rock itself. It was so shiny it appeared to be carved from crystal, or ice, and sparkled like a diamond. The plant had leaves sprouting from the stem and at the top was a flower consisting of six petals shaped like hearts.

"Great!" Jake exclaimed. "Skully, see if you can fly up there and gather the leaves."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Skully!" Izzy, who had been standing with Percy by a sign that no one else had noticed, announced in a loud voice before Skully could move a feather.

"She's right, mates," Percy added, pointing to the sign. "Have a gander at this."

Izzy read the sign as soon as all pirates had gathered around it.

"Welcome to the Ice Cavern, where here grows the only Crystal Ice Tea Plant. To be worthy of gathering the plant, you must first prove to be worthy of the game. Simply follow the rules and beat the game, no more, no less. Failure to follow the rules or attempts to cheat the game will cause the plant to be destroyed forever. Win the game, you win the plant. And one more thing: there are no second chances."

"Wait. That's it?" Bones asked. "But what be the game?"

"And what are the rules?" Cubby chimed in.

Jake looked around for another sign and even looked behind the sign they had just read, but there was no other writing anywhere. As he looked out at the floor, his shoulders slumped and he gave a slightly frustrated sigh.

"I'm afraid that might also be part of the puzzle, mateys," he said. "We need to figure out what game to play to get the tea plant."

"Why do we hafta figure it out?" Sharky asked. "Can't we just have Skully fly up ta get it like he was gonna do?"

"Yeah, I mean, who's gonna know?" Bones put in. "I'm not seein' anyone else here watchin' us."

"I don't think that's something we should take a chance with," Izzy answered. "If this is the only Crystal Ice Tea Plant in existence, we can't risk losing it."

"She has a point, there," Percy said. "I don't think this sign would be placed here if there was no chance the plant would be lost if we tried to take it without trying to beat the game, whatever it is."

"Then how do we find out what the game is?" Cubby asked. "There's nothing anywhere that gives us a clue."

Nothing, that is, except the floor, Jake thought as he continued to look over the layout. He took in every factor he could see: the slick floor, the giant ice block, the stones sticking up from the floor, and the square-shaped holes. He was beginning to get an idea, but he needed help to confirm it.

"Hmm. Hey Skully, Percy! Could you come here for a minute?"

"Right here, Jake!" Skully flew down and landed on his friend's shoulder.

"Sure thing, mate," Percy came waddling up tp Jake.

"Listen," Jake knelt down closer to Percy. "Skully, I need you to fly Percy up high and..."

No one else was able to hear what Jake said next, because he then leaned in and whispered the rest of his request into the birds' ears. As soon as he was done whispering, Skully and Percy nodded their heads and without further ado, Percy held his flippers out to his sides, allowing Skully to gently grab them with his feet.

"Ready to become a flying penguin again, Percy?" Skully asked.

"Flap away, Skully!" the penguin answered. At those words, Skully flew Percy high, high up above the floor, close to the ceiling. As he went up, Percy stared at the layout, concentrating, studying it as hard as Jake had done. It was only until he had the entire layout in his vision was he able to see it all clearly. And when he did, his face lit up and his eyes went wide in excitement.

"You're right, Jake!" Everyone heard Percy call down. "It looks just like a giant Ice Maze game!"

"Crackers!" Skully exclaimed as he looked down and saw the same thing. "I see it too!"

"Then that's gotta be it," Jake said to the others. "Ice Maze must be the game we have to play and beat to get the plant!"

"Shiver me timbers!" Izzy said. "It looks like it's going to take all of us to push this block around."

"Aw, coconuts!" Cubby exclaimed in dismay as he noticed something. "This floor's not tilted like Percy's board game is. That means if we make a mistake..."

"There won't be any do-overs for us." Sharky finished for Cubby. "Just like the sign be sayin'."

"Then Percy can make sure you guys won't make any mistakes," Skully spoke as he lowered the penguin back on the ground and perched on his head. "I can fly him back up to the top so he can see the whole floor and be able to tell you where to push the cube."

"Blimey, are you sure you can hold me that long, Skully?" Percy asked with uncertainty. "In case you didn't notice earlier, I'm not exactly light as a feather."

"Well then," Skully answered. "You'll just have to try to beat your high score, won't you?"

"It's up to you, Percy," Jake said. "But I think it's the best idea we might have to beat this."

Percy gave it some thought, then gave a smile as he held out his flippers again.

"Alright then," he declared. "Take me back up, Skully."

While Skully took Percy back up, everyone else gathered in front of the ice block and waited for directions from Percy. Luckily they didn't have to wait that long, as the penguin only took less than a minute to figuratively make the first move.

"Alright!" he shouted. "Start by pushing the block straight ahead, towards the stone in front of you!"

They did so, then looked back up.

"Ok!" they heard next. "Now push the block all the way to the right, until it hits the next stone!"

The block slid until it hit the next stone.

"Then push the stone down, towards the front of the floor!"

The stone slid past one of the holes as it made its way towards the small stone.

"Next, push the block to the left. It needs to hit that stone all the way on the other side!"

The block took a little while to reach the other side. It took the pirates longer to catch up.

"Now, push the block up!"

This time it took a second for the block to stop.

"Push the block to the right, until it hits the stone in the middle of the floor!"

The block was pushed and everyone caught up to it with excitement, as they could see they were almost there.

"I think you know what to do next! Push the block up!"

Finally, the block hit the goal: the tall stone with the Crystal Plant. Everyone cheered, then helped Jake and Bones, who were each the tallest of their respective crews, climb on the block. Jake then stood on Bones' shoulders and, without further ado, picked all the leaves from the tea plant. The rest of the plant he left as is, so that it would have a chance to grow more leaves, in case they were ever needed in the future.

"Yo ho, way to go!" Jake cheered after he and Bones had climbed down from the block and had given the leaves to Izzy to put in her bag. "We found and collected the tea leaves, and we got seven gold doubloons! Let's grab them and go get the rest of the ingredients."

After the group left the cavern, they boarded their sleds and took off back to the colony, Percy sliding besides them. As they rode in the snow, Izzy turned her head towards her friend.

"Thank you so much for your help, Percy," she said. "We couldn't have done this without you."

"I have a feeling you would have, but you're welcome anyway," he responded. "Anyway, in all actuality, I should be thanking you for the best Ice Maze game ever!"

"Crackers, Percy," Skully spoke from where he was perched on Jake's shoulder. "I think that may have been your fastest time yet! Too bad you could only play that game once, though."

"Yeah, I know," Percy looked a little down at the thought. "But I can't think of a better way for me to have beaten my own high score. I only wish you could stay and help me tell my Arctic Pearl all about it when she gets back from her trip."

"I wish we could too, Percy, but we can't," Cubby said. "We need to get to Deep Dark Valley and find the Drip Drop Milkweeds. Their nectar is the next ingredient on the list."

"Well, good luck with your quest, then," the penguin said. "And give my regards to that sick sneaky snook, will you?"

" We will, Percy," Jake promised.

As they continued back towards the igloo village, Cubby kept feeling a chill on the back of his neck and snaking down his back. It was a feeling he had before, but it was usually of foreboding. He shook his head, dismissing the feeling as nothing more than the cold. Though Cubby couldn't quite shake the feeling that this was more than a chilled neck.

Author's note: I do apologize for the wait. I didn't forget this story, but with the holidays and New Year's it was hard to find time to work on this chapter. Plus, I ran into some trouble because my original plot for this chapter had so many holes it could have rivaled Swiss cheese, so I had to scrap it and start again. I hope the wait and the rewrite made this chapter worth it.

To answer your questions, unfortunately, I don't plan on having Peter Pan making a guest or even a cameo appearance. However, he will be mentioned several times throughout the story, as you have already noticed. And Percy will not be the only guest character in this story. I have a few other appearances in mind as well. And I'm so glad someone pointed out what Mama Hook said about hunting the Flu Bugs. Remember that, she hunted them. I never said anything about her killing them. Keep that in mind, because this will be brought up again in a future chapter.

PS: In case some of you guys don't realize it, my inspiration (and in fact, the name) for the Ice Cavern came from the video game Ocarina of Time. Even the solution for pushing the ice block and the solution for beating the Ice Maze are very similar.


	6. Chapter 5

Deep Dark Valley was the next place in Neverland to visit, more's the pity for Sharky and Bones. As the name suggested, it was dark enough to get hopelessly lost in without a map, not to mention it was made worse by the terrifying creatures and sinister plants that called the place home. The legend of Deep Dark Valley warned that any pirate would have to be crazy enough to go there. But it was the only place where the Drip Drop Milkweeds could be found, so it was a chance that had to be taken, for Hook's sake.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask), it did not take as long to reach the valley as it did Ch-ch-chilly Canyon. And so, within a short time, the buccaneers disembarked on the shores of the dreaded valley, just before the starts of several paths that scattered throughout the place.

"Well, here we are. Deep Dark Valley!" Jake looked this way and that and then turned to Cubby. "Ok, Cubby, which path do we need to take?"

"Hmm, let's see..." Cubby looked thoughtful as he studied the parchment in his hands. "According to my map, the second path from the right is the one we need to take in order to safely reach the milkweeds."

"Blimey," Bones muttered miserably. "I'm not lookin' forward to riding Cascading Slides or visiting Teeter Totter Plain like we did last time"

"You don't have to worry about that, Bones," Cubby pointed to the spot on his map where the milkweeds were marked. "Lucky for us, we don't have to go that far in Deep Dark Valley to have to make our way to those places again. As long as we follow the correct path, we can just turn around and come straight back here once we're finished."

"Right," Jake pointed at the aforementioned path with his sword and waived everyone forward with his hand. "C'mon, mateys! The faster we find the milkweeds, the faster we can get out of here."

"I'm for that," Sharky started jogging, hesitating slightly along with Bones as they entered the valley, but tamped down his fear as he and the others continued down the path. The adults were careful not to let anything frighten them into running in every direction but straight ahead, leaving them as hopelessly lost as the last time they were there.

After a few minutes of jogging, the pirates could all make out the sound of running water. Before any of them could wonder about the source, the path seemed to widen and lead out of a patch of tall trees. As they came out of the other side of the trees, the area opened up to reveal a pond, with what looked to be a small island in the center.

It would have seemed like any regular pond one would find on the main island of Neverland, except for the water, which looked incredibly cloudy as to appear white, almost like skim milk.

"Shiver me timbers," Izzy said as she leaned closer to examine the water. "I wonder what's causing the water to look like this."

"I don't know, Iz," Jake answered as he reached out to gently grab Izzy's hand as she was about to stick it in the pond. "But it would be best not to touch it. For now, let's see if we can find a way to get to the other side of this pond."

"We may not have to do that, Jake," Cubby piped up. "According to my map, the milkweeds should be right in this area."

"Like right out in the middle of the pond?" Bones asked.

"Uh, maybe..." Cubby looked up at the pirate. "Why do you ask?"

"Cause there they be out there," Bones pointed out towards the water. "Hangin' out from that little island."

Following the direction of where Bones was pointing, the rest of the group looked over to where the island was sticking out from the water. Sure enough, growing all around from the edge of the island were white flowers that seemed to surround a large, green, thorny-looking bulb sticking up from the middle. The flowers had grown in between vines that were covering the island. Their stems curved downward toward the water, causing their petals to hang down, giving a droopy appearance. They almost resembled narcissus flowers, and yet they weren't. One look at them and it was easy to see where their name, the Drip Drop Milkweeds, had come from. From each flower, out from the middle of their petals, came a continuous drip of nectar. The nectar took on a thick, opaque white appearance, like heavy cream, and each drop fell into the pond, to mix with the water. Now the pirates knew what caused the water to be so cloudy.

"Way hey! That's them all right," Izzy exclaimed. "I recognize them from Nanny Nell's book."

"Nice going, Bones." Jake praised. "Now, we need to figure out how to collect their nectar."

"Crackers, that shouldn't be so hard to get to them," Skully said as he eyeballed the milkweeds. "I can just fly out there and pick one from the island." Skully flew out towards the flowers before anyone could stop him.

"No! Skully wait!" Jake cried as he watched his parrot friend get closer to the middle of the pond. His cries came too late. Suddenly two slits on the top of the large thorny bulb opened to reveal eyeballs! The eyes immediately focused on Skully and, without warning, the vines that were hanging down from the island took on a life of their own, lifting off from the island and, like spiky whips, quickly lashed out towards Skully. Only quick twists and dodges saved the parrot from getting hit by any of the vines. No matter which direction he flew, up, down, left, or right, he found himself in danger of getting hit. Finally, he flew back to where the rest of his mateys were, and the violent plant thrashing stopped. The vines went back to where they had rested previously, the bulb's eyes closed, and the plant stilled as if the entire attack never happened.

"Skully! Are you alright?" Jake asked as he and the others ran to where the out-of-breath parrot had landed.

"I will be in a moment," Skully managed to gasp out in between breaths. "What was that?"

"It's that giant plant in the middle of that island," Izzy pointed out. "It looks like it's there to guard the milkweeds."

"Aw coconuts!" Cubby exclaimed in dismay. "How can we get to the milkweeds now? There's no way to get close to them without those vines hitting us."

"Maybe we can try to get them from here," Sharky said. "If you notice, the vines are not tryin' to attack us now."

"None of them even tried to hit us while they was attackin' Skully," Bones pointed out.

"They're right," Jake looked thoughtful as he contemplated the challenge. "Obviously the vines can't reach this far to hit us, so our safest bet would be to try to get the nectar here from the shore. But how?" Jake rubbed his chin as he stared at the cloudy pond. Somehow, it reminded him of the froth and foam of the sea as he would lean against Bucky's rails while he was out on the ocean, using his pole to catch fish for lunch or dinner or even his favorite snack, fish jerky. Hmm...fishing...fishing!

"Fishing! That's it!" Jake snapped his fingers as inspiration came to him.

"What's it?" Izzy asked as they all turned to look at him.

"Since we can't get close to the milkweeds, and none of us can reach them from here, why don't we try to get them another way: we can use fishing poles with weights tied at the end to 'fish' for the milkweeds."

"But Jake," Cubby said. "None of our fishing poles are on board Bucky."

"We don't need them," Jake explained. "We can use branches from the trees behind us as poles, and I know Izzy has string in her bag. There are plenty of small rocks here too. They can be used as weights."

"So if we use the poles to cast the weights towards the island, and if we aim them right," Izzy said, trying to picture in her head the plan Jake had in mind. "We may be able to use them to grab one of the milkweeds and bring it here!"

"Exactly! C'mon, mateys! Let's go make those poles!" Jake rallied the others and once again, inspired by the fearless leader of the expedition, each pirate got to the task of making his (or her) own fishing pole. In less time than it takes to describe, the poles were made and the group stood around the pond, each trying to aim at a flower from the island.

"Remember," Jake emphasized. "the trick is to aim it so that your rock goes around the flower. Whoever does so first, give a shout so the rest of us can help you pull it towards us. Ready, cast off!"

And with that, the lines went flying. It took a while in between casts, as the pirates did not have the luxury of fishing reels and had to pull the weights back by hand before tossing them back out. The plan seemed to work, for although the weights nearly touched the island and made noises as they plopped in the water, the large bulb did not stir or open its eyes.

After a couple of hours of this, suddenly the group heard an exclamation coming from Cubby.

"Hey! I got it!"

At this triumphant declaration, the rest turned to look at the island. Sure enough, the weight at the end of Cubby's fishing line had reached the island. Cubby's cast of the line had twisted it in a way so as to go around one of the milkweeds.

"Yo ho, way to go, Cubby!" Jake loudly praised. "Now, let's gently pull the line and 'reel' the plant in."

Unfortunately, the excited commotion served to "awaken" the bulb, its eyes immediately focusing on Cubby's line. It frowned, then a vine quickly unwrapped the line from the milkweed. At the same time, several other vines simultaneously grabbed each pirate's fishing line and gave sharp yanks. Before they realized what had happened, each of their poles flew out of their hands and all perfectly landed in their corresponding vines. Each vine wrapped around each pole and with a twist, snapped it in half. The broken poles then dropped into the water, followed by the weights and fishing lines. As before, the vines then went back to their resting places and the bulb closed its eyes.

Moments passed. Child, adult, and parrot alike stood still at the shore, eyes wide and still unable to fully comprehend or even believe what they had just seen. Not just incredulity, but all were feeling upset that all the work they had done was destroyed by a plant in less than 10 seconds.

"Umm.. anybody got any other ideas?" Sharky asked out of the blue, to no one in particular. There really wasn't anything else he or the others could think to say.

All faces fell as sighs escaped from them, for no one else had any ideas as good as the fishing one, or at all. As their shoulders slumped, each one went to look for a place to sit down and face facts. Without the nectar, the healing tea could not be made and Hook would not be cured of the forever flu he was stuck with.

As Jake sat on a rock he stared at the water. Nanny Nell and Mama Hook were not kidding when they warned about the challenges with collecting the ingredients. The giant Ice Maze game was daunting enough, but this?

Jake continued to look at the water and considered the challenge. He still felt sure they needed to stay on shore to gather the nectar. If he thought it would be enough, he would just collect the water the nectar was dripping into, however he figured it would be too watered down to be of any use. He looked up at the milkweeds and at the nectar in particular. How it reminded him of the cream Mama Hook sometimes used when making her teas. Hmm...cream mixing with water. Where in Neverland had he heard that before? He shifted as the book in his pocket uncomfortably pressed into him.

Jake suddenly sat up straight as it hit him. The book Peter Pan gave him! The one he had decided to take with him, even though he had no reason to. He pulled out the book and quickly flipped through it. It was a book of Mythology, full of stories about powerful beings from places he had never heard of. Peter had told him that his friend Wendy had given the book to him, mostly because of the colorful illustrations. He, in turn, had given the book to Jake, both for safekeeping and because he knew Jake would enjoy reading it. Jake reached the story he was looking for and quickly read through it. It was crazy, the idea blooming in his mind, yet he and his friends were facing the same situation. Besides which, at that point they were desparate. And desparation forced him to be creative.

"Hey guys," Jake looked up and quietly called out. "Come on around here for a second."

The rest of the buccaneers all walked towards Jake until they were gathered at the rock he was sitting on. Jake looked thoughtful as he cautiously continued.

"I think we've been going at this the wrong way," Jake explained. "All this time, we've been trying to gather the milkweeds themselves when truthfully, we don't really need them. We just need the nectar they produce. Like the tea plant back at Ch-ch-chilly Canyon. We just needed the leaves."

"Yeah, Jake, but how else can we get the nectar?" Izzy asked. "Right now, any nectar that is coming from the milkweeds is dripping right into the water."

"She's right," Skully said. "I mean, it's not like we can get the nectar straight from the water itself." Skully looked at Jake's face as his friend gave a small smile at the statement.

Then it hit him.

"Crackers, Jake!" the parrot gasped. "You aren't thinking...!"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking, Skully," Jake confirmed. He reopened the book, to one picture in particular, and turned it around so that the others could see it. The illustration showed what looked like a giant snake wrapped around a huge, pointy rock. There were two groups, one of colorful people, the other of sharp-fanged monsters, each holding one end of the snake.

"Whoa!" Izzy breathed as she looked closely at the picture. "Isn't that the book Peter Pan gave you?"

"The same," Jake answered. He pointed at the people in the drawing. "This story tells about how these people never grow up, like us, except they need to drink this cream to stay that way. One day, the cream spills into the ocean and they are unable to drink it. So they come up with a plan to use a large rock with this large snake wrapped around it to churn the water, to make the cream foam and separate from the water so they could collect it and drink it again."

"So you're sayin," Bones stared at the picture as he thought about what Jake was planning. "Is that we twirl a huge pointy rock in the water to make the nectar separate, like a huge churn?"

"Yes, exactly," Jake affirmed. "Except I think it would be better if we used a rope, rather than a huge snake."

Out of the corner of his eye, Jake saw Cubby quietly exhale in relief.

"So here's what we'll do," Jake continued. "Cubby, you and Bones go back to Bucky and find the heaviest, longest rope we have. Make sure it's a little rough, too. Sharky, Izzy, help me get this rock into the water so it sinks to the bottom, then we need to roll that pointy rock near those trees over to where the flat rock is. We need to be able to rest the point on the flatter rock so it won't sink in the bottom of the water while we're trying this." Jake clearly remembered the part of the story where the giant rock rested on the back of a turtle to keep it from sinking.

The pirates separated and got to their tasks. By the time Cubby and Bones got the rope and used the map to return to the pond, the others had moved the flat rock into the water (but still close to the shore to avoid the vines) and were rolling the pointy rock. Everyone was then able to help lift the rock onto the other, with the pointed end fitted into a grove on the flatter stone. Sharky, Bones, Izzy, and Cubby then stood in the water and held the rock up while Skully and Jake wrapped the rope around it, like it was illustrated in the book. Jake gave one end to the two adults, and the rest took the other end.

"Ok, so when I say go, Sharky and Bones, you pull your end first, then we pull our end. Remember, once we get it going, we can't stop until the nectar separates." Jake stressed.

Everyone nodded in understanding, then tightened their hold on the rope.

"Go!"

And with that, the bucanneers started pulling their respective ends, one group at a time. That's not to say they were able to churn the water right away. In fact, it took a half hour and several tries, including the pointed rock dropping into the water several times and had to be lifted back up. Once the rhythm was established, however, the rock twirled beautifully, the cloudy water swirling as it was being churned.

An hour passed, then two. Still, the churning continued. To pass the time and keep their spirits up, they sang pirate ditties and played word games. Even Skully would sometimes help, taking the rope in his feet and beating his wings. At the end of hour three, it was clear that everyone was tiring out and nothing appeared to be happening to the water. And still they kept going.

"Coconuts, Jake," Cubby said in exhaustion. "I know you said we can't stop, but couldn't we take a little break? My arms are about to fall right off my shoulders."

"Mine too," Bones piped in. All the others nodded their agreement.

"I know you're all tired and hurting. I am too," Jake said. "But we can't stop. If we do, we would just need to start this all over again. And think about Captain Hook. We need to get this nectar for him. We can't let him stay sick forever."

No, the others all agreed. They couldn't. So they kept at it, despite their fatigue and sore muscles. A short time later, though, the water begin to change. Skully was the first to notice it.

"Jake! Look!" he screeched. "Look! Something's happening to the water!" Sure enough, a thick foam began to form on the surface, slowly bubbling up almost like the potions in Misty the Wonderful Witch's cauldron sometimes did.

"Guys! I think it's working!" Jake exclaimed. "My book says that's what supposed to happen!"

Encouraged by the sight and by Jake's enthusiasm, the pirates continued on. Still, though, it took another hour before any significant change was made, based on the changes they all kept trying to observe in the water.

At long last, the nectar completely separated. They could tell when they could no longer see the bottom halves of their legs in the water and the surface took on the same thick, opaque quality as the nectar dripping from the milkweeds.

"That's it!" Jake cried as they continued pulling, fearful of stopping and having all of their hard work be for naught. "Quick! Someone collect it before it mixes again!"

Skully, who had been sitting on the empty container left out for the nectar, carried it as he flew towards the pond. He dipped the container in the nectar, filling it to the top, then carrying it back to set it next to Izzy's tote.

"Got it!" Skully yelled. "You all can stop now!"

That was all the permission they needed. All immediately dropped the rope, causing the large rock to fall into the water and splashing them. Izzy went to the nectar-filled container and put a lid on it to keep the liquid from spilling out, then put the container in her bag. She was about the collapse on the ground, as most of them seemed to be doing, but then Jake spoke up.

"Yo ho, way to go everyone," he said tiredly and slowly. "We got the nectar and nine gold doubloons. Let's grab them and get back to Bucky. I know we're all tired, but it'll be getting dark soon and I don't want to be in Deep Dark Valley when it does. We can rest once we get back on board."

In their spent and drained states, and with all the churning they had done, Sharky and Bones had completely forgotten where they were. With renewed energy, they immediately got up and helped the kids up too. It took a little longer getting back to Bucky than it did getting to the pond, but within 30 minutes all had dragged themselves on the ship and into their bunks. Luckily for them, Bucky did not have to have one of them awake to steer him, for all Jake had to do was tell Bucky to head to Big Bug Valley, where they would find the last needed ingredient: honey from the giant bees.

As the mateys snoozed and snored, and as Bucky set sail towards the next destination, none were aware of the pair of eyes watching them from one of the trees on the edge of Deep Dark Valley, eyes that had spied on them from the moment they had landed on the shores of the dreaded place earlier today.

Author's Note: Wow, guys. I cannot say I'm sorry enough for the incredibly long wait. I can make up excuse after excuse as to why I have not updated this story for close to a year, but the truth is I kept putting it off because I just did not feel like getting back into it. Pretty ironic, as it was always on the back of my mind, because I kept reminding myself how much it irritated me that I would wait for months at a time for some of my favorite fanfiction to be updated. Shoe on the other foot, which is now in my mouth. Luckily, I know exactly where the next chapter is going and have it written out in my mind, I just need to have it written down on my computer. I promise, I will try not to make you all wait another year to read it.

Ok, down to business. The story from Jake's book, about the beings churning the ocean, is the Samudra Manthan, a well-known story in Hindu mythology. The "colorful people," the gods, made a deal with the "sharp-fanged monsters," demons, to help them churn the ocean, using a mountain and the multi-headed serpent king as the rope, to collect amrita, life and youth-giving nectar, that had spilled into the water. The story served as my inspiration for this chapter. I recommend reading it if you never have.

So, it now appears someone is, and has been, spying on our group of questors. The question is: who? Sound off in the comments and here's my only hint: it is a familiar show character.

PS: There is a teeny, tiny easter egg in this chapter. Did anyone catch it? The answer next chapter.


	7. Chapter 6

After a nice, long sleep, the buccaneers woke up the next morning to find themselves on the shore near Big Bug Valley, where they hoped to find and gather the honey needed for Hook's medicinal tea. After a quick yet satisfying breakfast of yogurt with fresh fruit and granola (and topped with toasted coconut, courtesy of Cubby), they disembarked Bucky and started walking in the direction of the valley, according to Cubby's map. Jake could not help but notice that the closer they got to the valley, the larger things seemed to be getting, making it appear as if they were shrinking with each step. Finally, after a 30 minute walk, they entered the valley. It still never ceased to amaze the pirates how large everything was in this place, not the least of which were the insects that called it home.

"OK, Cubby. Where do we go from here?" Jake asked as he turned to his matey.

"According to my map, the beehive where we'll find the honey will be in the very center of the valley," Cubby answered. "All we need to do is keep following this path in order to reach it."

"Shiver me timbers," Izzy said as she looked all around. "I wonder what insects we'll get to see while we're here."

"Hopefully the only ones we'll ever see will be the giant honeybees," Cubby muttered as he gave a slight shiver.

"You know, Cubby, I don't see how you could still be terrified of this place," Skully wondered. "I mean, you seemed to like it after the last time we were here."

"The last time?" Bones asked. "Was that when we was all here lookin' for that giant...?"

Suddenly, Bones was interrupted by a gust of wind and a large shadow that blocked out the sun and practically covered the entire group. As they all looked up to try to find the shadow's source, they all had to shield their eyes, as whatever it was seemed to be causing the sun's rays, blocked as they were, to shoot out in every direction away from the large object at ten times their usual brightness. Yet even with their hands (and wing, in Skully's case) over their eyes, the pirates could all make out that the object eclipsing the sun was, in fact, a giant insect, it's beating wings causing the gusts of wind that was blowing around them. As the insect seemed to grow larger and larger, it became evident the thing was coming down to the ground. Bones, Sharky, Skully and the seapups all yelled and scattered in every direction to get out of the way. Finally, a loud _THUMP!_ and a cease in the winds signaled the bug's landing.

The pirates went back to the area they ran from in a slow manner, not only because all but Cubby were curious to see what it was that had touched down, but also because whatever it was, it was blocking the path to the beehive. As they got closer, they could not believe what it was they were seeing. It was a huge creature about the length and width of Bucky, with wings, an exoskeleton, and antennae that glistened and shone like the sunlight that was reflecting off of it.

It was only after it started squeaking and squealing excitedly, especially at Cubby in particular, did they all realize: they knew this critter.

"Hey!" Cubby cried out happily, his whole mood changing in an instant. "It's our friend! The Golden Butterfly!"

Before anyone could stop or caution him, Cubby ran towards the butterfly, coming to a halt once he got up close.

"I wonder if he remembers me," Cubby said and, moving slowly and gingerly so as not to startle the insect, he extended his arm and laid one of his hands on its head, gently rubbing it up and down on the bug's head in exactly the same way he did when he first met it, back when it was a caterpillar. In response the butterfly, eyes closed and still smiling, contently snuggled its head against Cubby's hand. If the others didn't know better, they could have sworn they could hear it purring.

"Looks like he still does, Cubby," Jake said as he and the rest of the pirates approached the two friends. All took turns petting the butterfly, including Bones, who was just as happy to see the insect as Cubby was. Jake was a little torn, though. As much as he was excited to see the Golden Butterfly and wished they could stay and get re-acquainted, they did need to get going if they wanted to get to the beehive and collect the honey. Just as he was about to say something, Cubby, who must've been thinking the same thing, started pulling out his map.

"Guys, let me try something," Cubby said. To the butterfly, he asked, "Hey, do you think you could help us with something?"

The butterfly squeaked rapidly, almost like it was talking. Taking that to mean yes, Cubby showed the map to the insect and pointed to a spot on it. It was a picture of the honeybee hive.

"We're trying to get to this giant hive that's in the middle of Big Bug Valley," Cubby explained. "Do you think you can help us?"

To everyone's surprise and delight, the butterfly nodded yes and, turning a bit sideways, lowered its wings to the ground so that they almost looked like loading ramps. He looked at the pirates expectedly.

"Crackers! It looks like he's not just going to help us,"Skully interpreted. "He wants to give us a ride there."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bones happily asked as he first helped Cubby climb on the butterfly, then seated himself behind the boy. Sharky and Jake helped Izzy up next before they climbed and sat behind her. Skully landed on the butterfly's head, intending to give his wings a rest and experience what was sure to be a fantastic flight. Once they were comfortably settled, before anyone could ask if the butterfly even had the strength to carry all six of them, the giant wings started beating and the bug launched itself into the air and went in the direction the beehive was located. With the wind whipping through their hair and the magnificent view below, the ride was nothing less than exhilarating.

It did not take long for the pirates to see how far their destination really was, and that were it not for the butterfly's arrival, it would have taken them all day to even get there. Instead, within an hour Skully, Cubby, and Bones were the first to spot the extremely tall tree, as tall as London's Big Ben, from which the giant hive was hanging from one of its long branches.

"Bones!" Jake called. "How much longer do you think it will be before we reach the hive?"

"Oh, I say bout another 10 minutes," Bones guessed. "Why do you ask?'

"Because we need to figure out how we're going to get honey from the hive," Izzy answered instead. "I can't imagine we can just go in and collect it."

"Well, why not?" Sharky asked. "Bones an' me, we've done it before whenever the Cap'n ordered us to find and take stuff."

"I don't suppose that you and Bones ever had to try to sneak into a giant hive with hundreds of giant bees, each with a giant stinger," Jake said.

"Well, uh..no," Sharky had to admit. "No, we never did that."

"Don't worry, Sharky," Izzy reassured him. "We have time to come up with something."

Or they would have had time.

Fate, at that moment, decided to intervene once again.

Author's Note: Short and somewhat sweet, I know, but I did promise an update before another year was up, so here we are. I am working on the rest of the Big Bug Valley adventure, so hang in there guys. Thank you allvery much for nice compliments. I'm glad you are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing this. Don't worry, the story will not end once the pirates leave the valley. Don't forget, they still have their mysterious stalker to deal with.

PS: The teeny tiny easter egg I mentioned last chapter was Cubby saying the path to the milkweeds was the second from the right, like a certain star. All cue the collective moan.


End file.
